Dearest readers,
Here we are, at the very end of yet another intense, fun, wonderful, and catastrophic year. We survived, didn’t we? And as the year gently (or for some more like a tornado) folds itself into its final pages, we find ourselves pausing (even tho for a second), looking back, and smiling. What a year it has been.
This edition feels less like an ending and more like a quiet gathering. A moment to acknowledge all that we’ve created together. The stories, the conversations, the experiments. A growing, curious, generous team. And you, our readers, who continue to meet us here, time after time, with openness and appetite for more.
We close the year on a sweet note. Literally. A friendly battle of taste buds as our team debates ice cream flavors.
Vanilla, pistachio, chocolate.
Leo, Niusha, Kyriaki.
Democracy has never been creamier. Let us know where your loyalty lies. Or perhaps next year, we expand this parliamentary debate and invite you fully into the chamber.
Elsewhere in this issue, Dragana reminds us how quickly life can turn. Five seconds. Enough time to fall in love with life. Or with yourself. Enough time for a new breath. A new beginning. Or yes, a complete disaster that makes us laugh in a year or two. The magic is that we never quite know which one it will be.
And then there is the holiday play that Lucia introduces us to. The scripts we inherit. The roles we perform. The traditions we rehearse year after year. Who knows how this season’s show will end? Comedy, tragedy, improvisation, or all three at once.
Whether you are celebrating loudly or quietly, with loved ones or with yourself, whether this time of year feels blessed, heavy, joyful, or complicated, we invite you to stay with us for one final read.
Thank you for being part of this year with us. Here’s to falling in love with life again and again. And to a very happy holiday season, and a bright, curious, wonderful new year. Cheers to you all!
